** Stephens raises PT on some railroad operators including Union Pacific UNP.N, Norfolk Southern NSC.N and CSX CSX.O ahead of Q3 results

** Brokerage expects in line results for CSX and UNP, slightly below the Street for NSC

** Says Q3 industry volume growth was largely driven by intermodal, and expects volume growth continue to slow through Q4

** "General merchandise trends remain more mixed, with some rails reporting growth, though we expect broad economic uncertainty will continue to weigh on these commodities" - brokerage

** CSX to report Q3 results on Oct 16, UNP and NSC on Oct 23

** Including session moves, S&P 500 Rail Transportation (sub ind) .SPLRCRAIL up 10.8% YTD

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy)

((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com))